New exhibit at Philadelphia's Penn Museum explores past and present of Native Americans

Doll, ca. 1890Culture: Yupíik EskimoLocation: United States, Southwest AlaskaAmong the Yupíik, dolls have been used for many purposes from childrenís play, to crafts for the tourist trade, and for healing practices. Learn more about health and healing among Native Americans today in Native American Voices: The PeopleóHere and Now.

War Bonnet, 1876Culture: LakotaLocation: United States, South DakotaFeathered war bonnets are enduring icons of Native America. This 19th century example was worn by a male warrior of high rank. Discover more new and old symbols of Native American identity in Native American Voices: The PeopleóHere and Now.

What you think you know about Native Americans (still sometimes inaccurately referred to as “Indians”) isn’t entirely right.

One panel in the new “Native American Voices” exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology goes as far as to say: “Museums, universities and other institutions have presented Native Americans in ways that foster stereotypes and lead to misguided policy.”

“Native American Voices” is not merely a 2,000-square-foot presentation of what will add up to 300 rotating objects from among the 160,000 Native American artifacts from the Penn Museum’s mind-boggling, massive collection. “What really sets the exhibit apart is the incredible amount of collaboration,” said the museum’s Williams Director, Dr. Julian Siggers, at a media preview event on Feb. 26.

More than 80 participants with lineage to North America’s 565+ tribes contributed in some way. Leaders in community development, art, archaeology, sports, social activism and more offer personal cultural perspectives in short videos, all a touch away on one of four multimedia towers.

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The towers introduce you to people like Suzan Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), founder of Native American rights organization The Morningstar Institute; Mark Gould, chief of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape nation of Bridgeton, NJ; John E. Echohawk (Pawnee), executive director of the Native American Rights Fund; and Arizona-based journalist Patty Talahongva (Hopi).

“It’s really important that we, as Hopi people, we as Native Americans, exert our rights as sovereign nations. We’re still signing treaties today,” Talahongva said in an interview.

Although things have significantly improved for the indigenous peoples of the U.S. over the last 50 years, land disputes rage on involving sites that have religious meaning to Native American tribes.

The roles of those sacred places are one of four main themes presented in the Penn Museum’s Ruth and Earl Scott North American Gallery.

When William Penn arrived in the New World, a pressing matter was negotiating a treaty with Lenape Unami Chief Tamanend. The local Lenape nations, many of which were later persecuted and forced to move westward, is another important theme of “Native American Voices.”

Another section explores “Continuing Celebrations,” from powwows to the biennial Celebration event in Juneau, Alaska that brings together the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian to celebrate their communities and cultural identity.

A good starting point is the floor-projected, virtual campfire circle in the center of the gallery, which shows a video summarizing the Native American experience. “Know that we are still here,” one of the narrator voices says.

The exhibit’s regalia and objects represent more than 100 North American tribes, from the desert peoples of the Southwest to the Inuit of the Canadian tundra, and from projectile points believed to be 11,000 years old, to contemporary art. Interactive touchscreen stations allow you to view any object on display that catches your eye from multiple angles, and to read up on everything that’s known about it.

“I love the interaction here,” commented Talahongva (which translates from Hopi to English as “White Spider”). “It’s encouraging someone to come in and be a part of the exhibit.”

“The goal of the exhibition is to transform your understanding of Native Americans today,” stated Penn Museum’s associate curator and senior keeper of the American Collection, and the lead curator of “Native American Voices,” Dr. Lucy Fowler Williams.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Native American Voices: The People — Here and Now.”

WHEN: This long-term exhibition will be on display five years.

WHERE: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South St., Philadelphia.